Tattooing provided
for a social identification of inmates within prisons. Much like
men in the armed forces of France, or female prostitutes, the
criminals of France formed a type of community. Since prisoners
no longer belonged to the society as a whole they needed to form
their own society, and their group identification was often tattoos.
In some cases these marks were marks of deviance, status, or distinction
within the group. Depending on the actual image depicted in the
tattoo, much was conveyed through these "talking scars"
(O'Brien).

Some of the most popular
tattoos seen in French prisons were, in order of most popular...

Erotic and sexual
images

Metaphoric symbols

Military figures

Inscriptions

Professional or
occupational symbols

Patriotic or religious
symbols

As can be seen on the torso
of the man above, many things are being expressed through his body art.
There is a metal on his upper chest, and an anchor on his lower left arm,
symbols perhaps of past occupations. There are numerous images of women,
a sign of sexual power, and there are even inscriptions reading "Vive
Le Classe 18..." showing that he is most likely an educated man.

Being in the controlled environment
of a prison, the body of the inmate was one of the only things he had
control over. Therefore, tattooing was a self-imposed identification,
and even a form of self impowerment.

The types of tattoos varied
from person to person, but more distinctivly between the two sexes. For
the most part, men in prisons used tattoos as symbols of power, deviance,
sex, protest, or even a longing to be free (for example the flying bird
on the above man's lower left arm). On the other hand, women's tattoos
often conveyed messages of romance and/or motherhood as compared to some
of the violent images males used.